happy & sad

Bucciarati and his gang were riding high off their defeat of Babyface. The gang was split between two cars for safety, with Trish hidden within the turtle. She traveled in the first car with Giorno, Narancia and Mista. 25 miles behind, Bucciarati, Abbacchio and Fugo drove. If there were to be a Stand coming from behind them, they would be a buffer between the user and Trish.

Narancia held the turtle in his lap and watched their surroundings using Aerosmith's radar. Mista fiddled with the car radio looking for a channel that actually played music and not old men yelling at each other over football. Giorno just tried to keep his focus on the road ahead. His heavy eyelids seemed determined to betray him.

"Narancia!" Trish called in a little voice. "I need to use the bathroom. Now!"

"Oh, you know we can't stop the car, Trish," Narancia answered without even looking down the keyhole. "What happened to the water bottle I gave you?"

A yellow water bottle came hurtling out of the turtle and hit Narancia right on the chin. The unmistakable smell of urine filled the small sedan, causing all of the boys to immediately gag. Mista rolled down his window and tossed the sticky bottle out. He furiously wiped his hands on his pants.

"It's full, Narancia!" Trish screamed. Narancia peered down to see her looking like a scowling Barbie doll. "We're pulling over right now!"

"But, Trish, didn't Bucciarati also make a zipper in there for you? Use—"

"No, no, no! It's disgusting and undignified. I want to use a real toilet like a person! I'm tired of being treated like some kind of animal!"

Narancia could see this was a battle he could only lose. "Giorno, what do you think?" Narancia asked.

"I'll try to find a rest stop..." Giorno answered. "There should be one right before Pointe della Libertà."

"Hey, Narancia, maybe we could get you a new shirt when we get there, because." Mista pointed at a wet spot on Narancia's tank top and tried to keep himself from laughing. "You, uh, got a little something on your shirt."

"Huh?!" Narancia squeaked. He slowly brought his shirt to his nose and took a sniff. "Ew!"

Mista broke out in laughter that resulted in Narancia kicking his seat and Mista swiping at the boy's flailing legs all the way to the rest stop.

"Mista, fill up the tank," Giorno said, throwing the keys to him. "Narancia, take Trish to the restroom."

"I can find a bathroom on my own, Giorno," Trish said, stepping out of the turtle.

"Someone still needs to stay with you," Giorno replied. "That's all, Trish."

Trish rolled her eyes and sauntered into the rest stop without a hint of urgency. Narancia handed Giorno the turtle.

"I've got to go, too," he said before following in after her.

Giorno sat on the hood of the car, keeping Coco Jumbo on his lap. "She shouldn't have left the turtle," he said, shaking his head. "The pursuers are looking for a girl traveling with a lot of men."

"Relax, Giorno. You pulled off beating Babyface by yourself, right?" Mista began filling up the tank. "If shit hits the fan, we can handle it."

Giorno gave an unconvinced nod before lying down. He shimmied up so he could comfortably lie on top of the hood. The sky above him had long turned purple and now was full of stars. The sight was free of any clouds, just the moon and the stars like twinkling sprinkles around it. Expansive, endless and incredibly humbling was it all.

Real life, however, couldn't be avoided for long.

Trish had been doing fine this whole time until now. Maybe she could be a little bratty, but never this difficult, Giorno thought. But, the mission will be over soon. He wondered if that meant they would never see Trish again once she reunited with her father. The Boss had been shrouded in secrecy for decades apparently. Giorno figured that meant the same for his daughter. Would she be happy? Giorno wondered. Her life with her mother was ordinary up until now. She's probably just stressed out and taking it out on all of us.